Chapter Twenty-five

 

 

Al-Zemrah, Iraq

 

Al-Rawi was hanging to life by a thin thread. The doctor had removed the bullet, but the Iraqi had lost a lot of blood. He was still unconscious, and the doctor did not hold out much hope. “Miracles do happen,” he said more than once. “I’ve seen men come back from the dead. Maybe he will too.”

With al-Rawi out of the picture, Justin gathered his team in the small yard of the house used as a clinic. He glanced around, but the nearest gunmen were beyond earshot. So he leaned closer to Carrie and Ying and said, “Thoughts about what we do now...”

Ying said, “We go on with the mission. Lim’s signal is still active in Rutbah.”

“If that’s really Lim,” Carrie said.

“It is Lim—well, one of the phones he has used. And al-Rawi confirmed seeing Lim,” Ying said in a voice a bit louder than necessary.

“Keep it down,” Justin said. “With al-Rawi gone, we’ve lost not only a quarter of our team, but also our guide.”

“Perhaps we should have someone call the number,” Carrie said, “to make sure Lim is actually there.”

“You think Lim will be so stupid as to answer a call from an unknown number?” Ying said.

Carrie shrugged. “We think he’s stupid enough to use an old, burned phone number.”

“He doesn’t know the number is burned.”

“Well, if we think Lim is as good as he’s supposed to be, he should know.”

Ying shook her head. “Lim is absolutely the best; I can attest to that.”

Carrie shrugged again. “I say we abort the mission.”

Justin said, “We’ve come so far, and Rutbah is only an hour away. But I’m not willing to go into Rutbah blind. When we had al-Rawi, he was our guiding eyes. Now, it’s going to be you.” He gestured at Ying.

“How? I’ve never been to Rutbah or this part of Iraq.”

“You’ll call Lim and confirm he’s there.”

“But ... he’ll recognize the number, know it’s from someone in Iraq and not answer.”

Justin showed Ying one of his phones. “This one has scrambling tech enabled, which masks the number. We can make it to be whatever number we want.”

Ying nodded. “Wouldn’t that tip our hand? Lim will know we’re after him.”

Carrie said, “Lim’s absolutely the best; he’s fully aware we’re after him.”

Ying shook her head. “I don’t know. If Lim has decoding technology or whatever it is called to unscramble the number, he’ll know we’re close, and then disappear.”

Justin thought about it for a long moment, then said, “I doubt Lim has such high-tech equipment in a remote village. It’s a risk we’ll have to take. If nothing else, it will confirm to us that Lim is in Rutbah. Even if we don’t find him there, he won’t be able to go far. At this point, we’re not even sure he’s in that village.”

“But we know he’s there. Al-Rawi confirmed that.”

“He did. Two days ago. Lim may have left the village and not taken the old phone with him,” Justin said.

Ying sighed and thought about it for a moment. Then her eyes sparked with what Justin thought was a mischievous glint. “All right, I’ll do it. I’ve thought of a way I can bait him.”

Justin frowned. “Bait him?”

“Yes, I can pretend that I can help him. When Lim was still in the MSS we were close ... very close.”

“Lovers?” Carrie said.

Ying nodded slowly. “Yes, you could say that.”

Justin shook his head. “No, that’s too risky, and Lim may read through your lies. Just tell him you’re aware of his London plot, without giving details, of course. Then tell him you’re going to stop him at any cost.”

“We only need confirmation of Lim being in Rutbah,” Carrie said. “And you’re the only one who can recognize his voice.”

Ying did not notice the hint of regret in Carrie’s voice, but Justin did. He said, “Yes, keep it short and sweet.”

Ying nodded.

Carrie said, “And use the speakerphone.”

“That’s not a good idea. He’ll know someone is listening.”

“Once you talk to Lim, it will be clear that someone is listening, whether you’re on speakerphone or not.”

Neither Justin nor Carrie spoke Chinese, so the speakerphone did not help much. However, Justin was not sure Ying was aware of their language deficiency. He wanted to give the impression that he and Carrie were listening to every single word Ying and Lim were going to exchange. Moreover, Justin wanted to hear Lim’s voice, so he could recognize him the next time, if there was a need and a next time.

Ying nodded. “Okay, okay. When are we calling?”

“Right away. No more time to lose.” He started to swipe through his phone. “Let’s find a more private place.” He tipped his head toward the alley.

“Yes, I’ll make sure it’s clear.” Carrie walked to the gate.

“Hey, where are you going?” Isaac called.

He had just stepped onto the porch, about ten yards away.

“Out there, for a quick call,” Justin replied.

Isaac nodded. “Don’t wander too far.”

“Got it, chief,” Justin said.

Isaac grinned. His smirk looked even more devilish under the naked light bulb, hanging from a frayed cord, that faintly lit the porch.

Out in the empty alley, Justin handed his phone to Ying. “It’s set to appear as if you’re calling from London, if he asks.”

“All right,” Ying said. “Wish me luck.”

“You don’t need it,” Justin said.

She nodded and dialed the number. It rang for a long tense minute, while Justin paced back and forth, praying Lim would pick up. Then a strong man’s voice replied from the other end of the call in what Justin assumed was Chinese. He knew the language had a fast pace and rhythm to it, but this man sounded like he was buzzed on caffeine or perhaps even something stronger.

Ying replied in a warm-sounding voice, which turned sharp as the call went on. She nodded a few times at Justin, which he interpreted as the sign that the caller was Lim. Justin thought he recognized the words “London,” “president,” “Russian,” and a few others, but he could not be certain.

Moments later, the conversation turned into a shouting match.

Justin shook his head, gesturing to Ying to keep her voice down.

She did not and kept screaming at the phone for a few more seconds, until Lim hung up on her. Ying ended the call and gave Justin a triumphant look.

“What was that all about?” Justin said.

“To be convincing. I told Lim we’re coming to kill him, wherever he’s hiding.”

“You’re absolutely sure he’s Lim?” Carrie asked.

Ying returned a firm nod. “Of course, I am. Do you think I wouldn’t recognize his voice?”

Justin returned the phone to his pocket after he swiped through a couple of screens. He disabled the recording feature he had activated before handing the phone to Ying. Since he did not trust Ying completely, at the last moment, he had decided to have another set of ears listen to the recording. Someone who actually understood Chinese.

“What do we do now?”

“Let’s go talk to Isaac about borrowing some of his men.”